Find competitions and grants, conferences and events, as well as classes and programs for business owners or aspiring entrepreneurs.

Shark Tank Casting Call—Nationwide
The producers of the ABC reality series Shark Tank are on a nationwide search to discover the next successful (and possibly wealthy) entrepreneurs, inventors, businesspersons, creators and innovators. In each episode, budding entrepreneurs are given the unprecedented chance to make their business grow immediately. Apply on ABC’s site.

Power 30 Under 30 Awards—Nationwide and International
Every year, the Power 30 Under 30 honors outstanding individuals under the age of thirty years old that have achieved extraordinary success. Young leaders are recognized from the following categories: Arts, Entertainment, & Media, Business, Community Service, Politics, and Science & Technology. Nomination deadlines are now open nationwide and all over the world. Deadlines are based on region. Read more on Power30Under30.com.

New York Women Social Entrepreneurs “How She Does It” Dinner featuring Ruth DeGolia, Founder of Mercado Global
Ruth De Golia’s award-winning model for the non-profit organization Mercado Global is grounded in building up women entrepreneurs from an unlikely population – the indigenous Mayan women of the Guatemalan highlands. Having survived a decades-long Civil War, ongoing discrimination, severe poverty, and lack of access to education and other paths to success, the indigenous women of Guatemala possess talents in weaving and sewing that Ruth recognized as tools to starting a successful enterprise. Mercado Global provides training programs in artisans’ native dialects and helps them form co-ops so they can do business with international retailers like Anthropologie and Lucky Brand Jeans. The model hinges on empowering these indigenous women to think of themselves as leaders and help them to break out of the cycle of poverty and into leadership opportunities; as a result, women are earning up to three times the national average and sending their children to school for the first time. The event will be held on Monday, October 21st, 2013 at Maharlika NYC, 111 1st Ave., New York, NY at 6:30pm. This is a woman only dinner, ft. Ruth as she discusses investing in women as entrepreneurs. For more information click here.

Springboard Enterprises 7th Annual Winners’ Circle Awards Dinner
Springboard’s annual celebration dinner takes place each October in New York City in recognition of entrepreneurial women and the community that supports their ventures. The dinner will be on Oct. 23 (Reception, 6:00 p.m.; dinner to follow) at The Boathouse in Central Park, E. 72nd St. and Park Drive North, New York City. For more information on Springboard Enterprises visit www.springboardenterprises.org.

BlogHer Pro Conference – Silicon Valley – San Francisco, CA
If you are a profesionally-minded blogger this conference is for you. BlogHer PRO is a 1.5 day, multi-track conference and networking event for bloggers who want to take their business, marketing, and technical skills to the next level. Through the BlogHer Pro Conference, you will be able to improve your knowledge and hone your skills on personal brand to personal finance to personal privacy and everything in between. October 22nd – 23rd 2013 Read more at BlogHer.com.

Women 2.0 Conference 2013 in Las Vegas–Las Vegas, NV
The Women 2.0 Conference, “2020 Vision: Designing Work, Life & Play” will look at the disruptive technologies shaping all aspects of our lives. Topics will include: urban innovation, the future of funding, personalized medicine, the quantified self, music technology, fashion technology, and more. This event will feature a two-day pitch contest, workshops and keynote speakers from industry experts. This event will take place November 14 and 15. Read more on Women 2.0.

12th Annual Enterprising Women of the Year Awards Celebration and Conference
The Awards Celebration and Conference is widely regarded as one of the premier networking opportunities for women business thought leaders and women entrepreneurs from the United States and around the world. It is open to winners of the Enterprising Women of the Year Award, corporate supporters, members of the Enterprising Women Advisory Board, VIPs in the women’s business community, readers of Enterprising Women magazine, and members of the many partner organizations affiliated with Enterprising Women magazine. The event will be held at the Ritz Carlton in Sarasota, FL from March 2nd – March 4th 2014. For more information please visit www.enterprisingwomen.com.

The 2014 celebration will shine the spotlight on the 2014 Enterprising Women of the Year Award winners and finalists. Recipients will be recognized at the March 4 Gala Awards Dinner for building financially successful, thriving businesses; exhibiting leadership at the local, state, national or international level; and mentoring and giving back to support other women in business.

Unleash your Story, Fuel a Movement
Presented by: Annie Escobar, 2009 Reynolds Scholar; Nonprofit Video & Storytelling Consultant
Date: October 16, 2013
Location: 295 Lafayette St, 2nd Floor, Rudin Family Forum
Time: 12:30 – 2pm
Intended Audience:This workshop is open to undergraduates, graduate students, and professionals who know that a better world is possible and want to get others to join you in making it happen.

Change relies on imagination. Leaders who see what’s possible before it exists and then do everything they can to make it a reality. But that vision will remain unrealized unless we help others see the world as we do, imagine the same possibilities. Our ability to create change depends on if we’re able to tell stories that inspire others to join us. This workshop is designed to help changemakers at all levels learn how to tell stories that catalyze their causes. We will explore how to craft a visionary narrative; 10 elements of magnetic stories; the 5 core stories you need to inspire action and build a movement; how to structure your personal stores; and a simple and effective process for choosing the perfect story to tell. When you leave this session, you will be able to connect with, identify and tell your most powerful stories. You will know how to craft a visionary narrative designed to invite supporters to your cause. For more information and for similar events, please visit the NYU R.E.A.L. workshop series homepage.

TechSpeak for Entrepreneurs–Phoenix, Silicon Valley, and New York City
TechSpeak for Entrepreneurs is a series of workshops created by Nelly Yusupova, CTO of Webgrrls International, designed to teach non-technical entrepreneurs and business people about the entire process of communicating with, understanding, and managing technology teams and projects. It is a 2-day intensive bootcamp designed to teach you a lot of information in a short amount of time. Workshops take place different dates in the various cities. See TechSpeak for Entrepreneurs for more information.

Autodesk Clean Tech Partner Program—Worldwide
The industry-leading Autodesk Clean Tech Partner Program accelerates innovation by providing clean technology pioneers with world-class software to design, visualize, and simulate a more sustainable world. The program supports early stage clean tech companies by providing digital prototyping software licenses valued at up to $150,000 for just $50. With digital prototypes, clean tech innovators can explore and communicate ideas, test multiple concepts, and accelerate improvements, while supporting the reduction of potentially costly errors. For more information, visit Autodesk.com.

HP StartUp Central—Worldwide
HP Startup Central makes HP technology, services and market opportunities available to entrepreneurs to help realize possibilities, aspirations and dreams. The goal is to help entrepreneurs at any stage, whether you are developing or deploying the next life-saving biotech drug, MMO game, clean tech solution, printing technology or mobile application. Check out the programs and resources to get you involved. For more information, visit HP’s website.

IBM Global Entrepreneur Program—Worldwide
IBM Global Entrepreneur is looking for global entrepreneurs who want to build a smarter planet. They provide a series of programs called SmartCamp, which are aimed at helping startup tech businesses with resources and software. They are hosted around the world. These mentoring and networking events put entrepreneurs in touch with investment firms, serial entrepreneurs, academics, marketing, communications, and technology experts that can help accelerate the solutions of startup companies to market. For more information, visit IBM’s website.

Microsoft Bizspark—Worldwide
Microsoft BizSpark is a global program that helps software startups succeed by giving them access to Microsoft software development tools, connecting them with key industry players, including investors, and providing marketing visibility to help entrepreneurs starting a business. For more information, visit Microsoft’s website.

Have you won, been honored or recognized by any opportunity we’ve featured? Share your success by sending heather@thestoryexchange.org an email.

Posted: August 25, 2013

If you're a woman business owner, share your startup story through our 1,000 Stories project and be featured on our site.

The Story ExchangeOpportunities for Women Entrepreneurs08.25.2013

yolanda granucci

A customer(friend) just told me about a contest that promoted women business owners. How and what can I do to better my business. What are these contests promoting? I have been in the Italian Restaurant business for 3 years now. It has not been easy,but it has been fun too.

TheStoryExchange

Glad to hear that you’re looking to take advantage of opportunities. These opportunities posted here come from all over. We are not affiliated with any of these competitions or conferences–we merely want to spread the word and be a resource to business owners. Read these individual opportunities and if anything catches your eye, you should check it out. Best of luck!

Ijeoma N.

I wish I had seen this list earlier. At least now I know there are additional resources. Thanks so much.
Ijeoma
@Lucky_IJhttp://luckyij.blogspot.com

http://twitter.com/zimuzo_ng Zimuzo

Thanks a lot for this. Doing a bit of research for an article. If I do use one of them, will be sure to write you and let you know:)

Cale

Phenominal 20 year old company announces:

Think about how much time everyone spends every day on digital phone service, local & Long distance, high speed internet, dial-Up internet, digitaltalk express, wimax, wireless mobile application, television, home security & automation, premium technical support, energy
and business advantages, to name a few.